Dairy-free Boom

The growing demands of special-needs shoppers are helping categories once considered niche get much-needed upgrades. One of the hottest segments is cheese alternatives.

Sales of analogs free of lactose or casein, or completely dairy-free, are up in most cheese-related categories, particularly shreds. Aside from vegans, vegetarians and those with food allergies, sales are getting an additional bump from anyone looking to improve their diets by cut